France offers troops for Afghanistan

Source: Xinhua | 04-03-2008 09:13

BUCHAREST, April 2 (Xinhua) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozyon Wednesday formally offered to send about 800 troops to Afghanistan, breaking a months-old deadlock of the alliance, said NATO spokesman James Appathurai.

Romania's President Traian Basescu meets with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on April 2  in Bucharest. (Xinhua Photo)

"I can confirm that the French government has offered a substantial military contribution to the operations in Afghanistan," the spokesman told reporters after a dinner of the NATO leaders.

The deployment will be battalion-strong and will be in the east, he said.

The United States, building on the French offer, has agreed to offer troops to the south of Afghanistan.

The troops and equipment pledged have satisfied Canada's demand for help from an ally, said Appathurai.

Canada, with 2,500 troops fighting in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, had threatened to pull out its troops after their mandate expires in early 2009 unless other allies provide additional troops and resources.

With the conditions met, the mandate of the Canadian troops cannow be extended till 2011, he said.

The spokesman said a number of other countries have also indicated their willingness to increase their contributions to Afghanistan. Details of their offers will be discussed on Thursday's high-level meeting on Afghanistan, which will bring NATO allies and 14 non-NATO troops contributing countries as well as other big players.

NATO leaders were "totally united" on the importance of the Afghan mission, said the spokesman. They all agreed that the mission has to succeed to prevent the Taliban from taking power again.

They also agreed that Afghanistan is a long-term commitment and that the allies should step up efforts toward a transition phase, where the Afghans themselves will take the primary responsibility for security of their country.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force has 47,000troops in Afghanistan. But only four NATO allies -- the United States, Britain, Canada and the Netherlands -- are engaged in fighting with the Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists in the south and east.

Sarkozy's announcement served as a sigh of relief after months of wrangling across the Atlantic.

U.S. President George W. Bush was upbeat on Wednesday about the troops boost.

"I feel good about what I'm hearing from my fellow leaders about their desire to support Afghanistan," Bush said in a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei